Really liked this one! I'll admit I had the same thought at the beginning - "Well, I DNF after 50 pages regularly, why wouldn't someone else?" I think 50 pages definitely counts as "the good college try," and like you, know myself well enough to decide things won't improve to the point it'll be worth it.
I almost never DNFed when I was younger, and then I saw the stat that one person is likely to read less than 3000 books in their lifetime. I did quick math (a book a week, and I'm not gonna live to 120) and realized that's correct, and that number seemed so small to me! So I realized I can't lose time slogging through stuff I don't like when I don't have time to get to the stuff I do like, and now I DNF mercilessly.
I have a feeling a lot of us go through a period of being determined to finish everything -- they wrote it, we can finish it! -- but honestly, as an author, if someone's not enjoying my book, I'd rather they duck out and move on to something they do enjoy! I'm not here to torture people.
This is so, so true. There are hugely popular books where even the positive reviews on Goodreads mention it gets better after 70% or 80% or even the last 100 pages.
I didn't start to DNF books until my 30s, but now I do so probably half the time—life is going too fast to keep reading stuff I don't like! However, I would never review a book I've DNF'd. I don't feel that's kind to the author who put so much work into it.
I had my first kid at 31, and that's right around when I started DNFing. As a student reading multiple books a week, I read so fast I almost didn't have to DNF. Once reading time became precious, I did! The problem now though is I'm sometimes afraid to start a book, and I don't even know if I'm more afraid it will be good or I'll dislike it.😅 If it's good, I'll have no peace until I finish, but if it's bad, then I'll be disappointed.
Don't know who said it but a book reviewer stated I don't have to eat the whole dish to know it's bad : )
Really liked this one! I'll admit I had the same thought at the beginning - "Well, I DNF after 50 pages regularly, why wouldn't someone else?" I think 50 pages definitely counts as "the good college try," and like you, know myself well enough to decide things won't improve to the point it'll be worth it.
I almost never DNFed when I was younger, and then I saw the stat that one person is likely to read less than 3000 books in their lifetime. I did quick math (a book a week, and I'm not gonna live to 120) and realized that's correct, and that number seemed so small to me! So I realized I can't lose time slogging through stuff I don't like when I don't have time to get to the stuff I do like, and now I DNF mercilessly.
I have a feeling a lot of us go through a period of being determined to finish everything -- they wrote it, we can finish it! -- but honestly, as an author, if someone's not enjoying my book, I'd rather they duck out and move on to something they do enjoy! I'm not here to torture people.
OMG that's like the 4,000 Weeks book. I don't want to know the truth! 😅
This is so, so true. There are hugely popular books where even the positive reviews on Goodreads mention it gets better after 70% or 80% or even the last 100 pages.
The love those readers have for those authors is truly amazing.
It's not always easy to tell if a book will be good within the first few pages--but it's usually easy to tell if it will be bad.
That's a good distinction.
I didn't start to DNF books until my 30s, but now I do so probably half the time—life is going too fast to keep reading stuff I don't like! However, I would never review a book I've DNF'd. I don't feel that's kind to the author who put so much work into it.
I had my first kid at 31, and that's right around when I started DNFing. As a student reading multiple books a week, I read so fast I almost didn't have to DNF. Once reading time became precious, I did! The problem now though is I'm sometimes afraid to start a book, and I don't even know if I'm more afraid it will be good or I'll dislike it.😅 If it's good, I'll have no peace until I finish, but if it's bad, then I'll be disappointed.
Agree 100 percent! Even in published books, I can get a really good idea about what lies ahead for me.